These Uplifting 'Home To Vote' Stories From Irish Emigrants Are Giving People Hope

You might want to grab a tissue.

As counting began in the historic referendum on whether Ireland should legalise abortion, the scale of the “home to vote” movement began to emerge, as hundreds of women shared stories of their journeys home to make their voice heard.

There are approximately 828,164 Irish emigrants living abroad, and many of them weren’t going to miss their chance to help make history, sharing their emotional homecoming stories on Twitter.

The #HomeToVote hashtag, which is predominantly being used by pro-repeal ‘yes’ voters, has been full of optimism, hope, and tear-inducing tales of good will and human kindness.

Including people offering donations to pay for flights, and offers of free transport to get voters home in time.

Despite reports that the vote is in the hands of the ‘undecided’ voters, many pro-yes voters said they were feeling supported. Particularly by security and airport staff.

Lads, the pure dote at the car hire desk saw my badge and jumper and waived the cross border fees with a wink and a smile, wished us luck and the pure overwhelming love I feel now has put dust in my eye. Scraping the money together was a struggle but I’m #hometovote#VoteYes#mnápic.twitter.com/NeKxtgB03a

In some of the most heartwarming examples, people - who are not allowed to vote because they are not Irish or have been away from Ireland for too long - were donating money to strangers to pay for their tickets.

People also shared their stories of being on the receiving end of anonymous donations, while others are looking for people who still need the help.

a friend of mine wasn’t allowed fly from Manchester as she forgot her passport. random stranger in the airport transferred her 400 pounds to book flights tomorrow morning. She will be #hometovote. I will be crying

It's nearly 5am. I haven't slept yet. I've been up all night booking flights, outrageously expensive flights, paid for by complete strangers who just wanted to help Irish people like me get home to vote. To all those people, thank you. #HomeToVote#VoteYes#RepealThe8thpic.twitter.com/vcAeH0RL7G

Someone needs to make a book out of stories from the Abroad For Yes FB page. I can't get over people's generosity. A friend put up a post asking for donations to get her sister #hometovote Yes, and within 30 minutes they had raised over €450. The definition of #together4yes